UNIVERSIDADES PÚBLICAS DE LA - Knowing

UNIVERSIDADES PÚBLICAS DE LA COMUNIDAD DE MADRID
PRUEBA DE ACCESO A ESTUDIOS UNIVERSITARIOS (LOGSE)
Curso Modelo 2012
MATERIA: INGLÉS
INSTRUCCIONES GENERALES Y VALORACIÓN
l. Lea todo el texto cuidadosamente.
2. Lea atentamente todas las preguntas de la prueba.
3. Proceda a responder en lengua inglesa a las preguntas en el papel de examen.
TIEMPO: 1 hora y 30 minutos.
CALIFICACIÓN: La puntuación máxima de la prueba es de 10 puntos.
OPCIÓN A
Make room for the robots
When world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma announced that he would be playing with the Detroit
Symphony, every seat was sold. However, Yo-Yo Ma's performance was not the only thing that
amazed the audience. The conductor did too. The conductor stepped onto the stage and lifted
both arms to direct the musicians who played the song "The Impossible Dream." Until recently,
that is exactly what this performance would have been. This is because ASIMO, the conductor,
is only eight years old and 1,2 meters tall. It is also a robot. The scientists who built ASIMO
equipped it with many abilities such as c1imbing stairs, recognizing faces, or even helping
musicians make beautiful music.
Since the 1960s, robots have been doing jobs that are too boring or dangerous for humans.
These industrial robots, unlike ASIMO, do not have a humanoid appearance. But now that
robots are moving into our homes, many are starting to look more like us One company has
built a dish-washing robot called Monty. To reach the sink, Monty needed to be more than 1,5
meters tall and have a human-like hand to pick up coffee cups. "Once you make a robot for
human environl11ents," says the company's manager, "you end up getting closer to a human
shape. But building robots to look like people is not always necessary." His company also
makes a disc-shaped vacuuming robot called the Roomba and more than 3 million are already
in use.
Will the robots of the future look more like Monty or Roomba? Either way, the company's
manager is happy to hand over the boring chores. "I'd rather have a robot do dishes," he says.
Wouldn't you?
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA
QUESTIONS
1. Are the following statements TRUE or F ALSE? Copy the evidence from the
text. No marks are given for only TRUE or F ALSE.
a) ASIMO was designed only to direct an orchestra. FALSE
" The scientists who built ASIMO equipped it with many abilities such as c1imbing
stairs, recognizing faces, or even helping musicians make beautiful music."
b) The Roomba vacuuming robot has a humanoid appearance. FALSE
"His company also makes a disc-shaped vacuuming robot called the Roomba and more
than 3 million are already in use."
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
2. In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following
questions. Do not copy from the text
a) Describe AS1MO's appearance and its role with the Detroit Symphony
ASIMO is a robot fabricated eight years ago which height is 1.2 meters. He was
the conductor of the orchestra which played the Detroit Symphony, thanks to its
both robot arms.
b) Explain why Monty needs to look more human
Monty needed to look more than a human because it was built to wash the
dishes, so it needed a "human" hand to be able to take the coffee cups, and to be
taller in order to be able to reach the sink.
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
3. Find the words or phrases in the text that mean:
a) raised (paragraph 1) LIFTED
b) skills (paragraph 1) ABILITIES
c) tedious (paragraph 2) BORING
d) risky (paragraph 2) DANGEROUS
(Puntuación máxima 1 puntos)
4. Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in
brackets when given.
a) Roomba is _EASIER_ (easy) to use than a normal vacuum cleaner and 1
am more than _SATIFIED_ (satisfy) with it.
b) Could you _DO_ me a favour? Tell me where I can buy the _BEST_
(good) cooking robot on the market.
c) A Japanese company has made a new robot that looks and acts _AS_ a
dog, but it is not a substitute _OF_ a real pet.
d) Many novels about robots _WRITTEN_ (write) by science fiction writers.
I especially enjoy _READING_ (read) Isaac Asimov's robot novels.
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
a) EASIER. Comparativo Easy + comparativo -er (al ser un adjetivo corto). Para saber que
es un comparativo, la oración nos da la frase al poner "than" (que en los comparativos es una
parte esencial que significa "que"). + SATISFIED. Adjetivo calificativo con el verbo to be +
than. "Estar más que satisfecho con".
b) DO. "Hacer un favor" siempre es con el verbo "Do", jamás con el verbo "Make". +
BEST. Superlativo. Al poner el adjetivo "good" entre paréntesis, el superlativo se idenfitica
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA
gracias al "the"... "on the market".
c) AS. "Actuar como", siempre va con la preposición "As". + OF. "Sustituto de +
something" siempre se construye con la preposición OF: "to be a substitute OF".
d) WRITTEN. Oración en pasiva, por lo que usamos el participio del verbo "to write" para
decir "muchas novelas sobre robots ESCRITAS (Written) by Science fiction writers". +
READING: El verbo "to enjoy" siempre obliga a poner el siguiente verbo terminado en -ing.
5. Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic.
Would you like to have a humanoid robot in your home? Why or why not?
(Puntuación máxima 3 puntos)
Firstly, I think that robots and human people are not compatible. Although films have
shown us that both species can live together, I think that this possibility is not real at all,
and that currently there aren't any kind of robots which may be able to substitute any of
our daily habits and routines.
From my point of view, the technology is not as advanced as it must to coexist with
humanoid robots, neither at home or at work, because this would require to build smart
robots which were able to do some things that we do every day, such as doing the
shopping, understanding and taking care of our children and relatives, being competitive
in our jobs, etc. Regarding the possible fact of having a humanoid robot at home, I
think in the same way, it is to say that they wouldn't be so advanced and intelligent to be
able to cook, to clean the powder in the most little corners and spaces of our homes, etc.
For all these reasons, I wouldn't like to have a humanoid robot at home, and I think that
in case these robots became as smart as us, each species must live in different
environments and areas.
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA
OPCIÓN B
The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War,
known today as World War I, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. Known
as "Spanish Flu", that outbreak of influenza was a global disaster. It has been cited as
the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza
in a single year than in four years of the Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351.
In the fall of 1918, the Great War in Europe was winding down and peace was
on the horizon. Then, something erupted that seemed as benign as the common cold.
The influenza of that season, however, was far more than a cold. In the two years that
this plague ravaged the earth, a fifth of the world's population was infected. The
"Spanish flu" was most deadly for people aged 20 to 40. This pattern of morbidity was
unusual for influenza, which is usual1y a killer of the elderly and young children.
ºIt infected 28% of all Americans. An estimated 675,000 Americans died of
influenza during the pandemic, ten times as many as in the World War I. Of the U.S.
soldiers who died in Europe, half of them fell to the influenza virus and not to the
enemy.
People were struck with illness on the street and died rapid deaths. The
physicians of the time were helpless against this powerful agent of influenza. A wellknown anecdote tells of four women playing bridge together late into the night.
Overnight, three of the women died from influenza.
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA
QUESTIONS
6. Are the following statements TRUE or F ALSE? Copy the evidence from the
text. No marks are given for only TRUE or F ALSE.
a) No plague has been as lethal as the "Spanish Flu". TRUE
Known as "Spanish Flu", that outbreak of influenza was a global disaster. It has
been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.
b) Common influenza mainly affects middle-aged people. FALSE
This pattern of morbidity was unusual for influenza, which is usual1y a killer of
the elderly and young children.
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
7. In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following
questions. Do not copy from the text
a) How was the American population affected by the Spanish flu?
More than a quarter of the American population was affected by the Spanish flu,
an almost 700,000 American people died of this influenza pandemic. Besides,
hundreds of American soldiers suffered from influenza.
b) Did people suffering from "Spanish Flu" take a long time to die? Explain
your answer
No, people who were affected by the Spanish Flue died very quickly, because its
power, so doctors couldn't do anything to help those people suffering from this
influenza pandemic. There were some examples which describe perfectly the
quickness and power of influenza: Some women were playing cards together and
in some hours three of them died.
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
8. Find the words or phrases in the text that mean:
a) catastrophe (paragraph 1) DISASTER
b) autumn (paragraph 2) FALL
c) ending (paragraph 2) WINDING DOWN
d) fatal (paragraph 2) DEADLY
(Puntuación máxima 1 puntos)
9. Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word in
brackets when given.
a) Many more people _WERE KILLED_ (kill) by the "Spanish Flu" in a
single year _THAN_ those who died from the Black Death.
b) If doctors of the time _HAD HAD_ (have) effective medicines at
their disposal in 1918, many people _WOULD HAVE SAVED_
(save) their lives.
c) Normally _IT_ takes years to find an effective drug against a virus. We
still haven't one for A1DS _AFTER_ three decades of research.
d) Rewrite the following sentence beginning with the words given.
Mrs. Mitchell said to her daughter: "Wear your scarf and gloves in case it
snows·'.
Mrs. Mitchell told her daughter that she wore her scarf and gloves in
case it snowed
a) WERE KILLED. Oración en pasiva, identificada por un "Sujeto paciente"
+ un "by the Spanish Flu". Al ser una pasiva la oración siempre debe llevar
el "Verbo to be" (en Pasado simple en este caso al ser una acción ya
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA
terminada de un momento concreto) + el participio del verbo entre paréntesis
(kill), que al ser regular, sólo se le añade "-ed" al final del verbo. + THAN.
Partícula obligatoria en los comparativos, y la oración al utilizar "more
people ... those who died from the Black Death" está haciendo una
comparación de la cantidad de personas que murieron por la pandemia del
virus "influenza" y de la Peste Negra.
b) HAD HAD ... WOULD HAVE SAVED. Condicional de Tipo 3. Past
Perfect (con el verbo have en pasado + el participio del verbo principal, en
este caso también have) + would have + participio del verbo principal de la
segunda oración.
c) IT. En la oración se hace referencia a la frase hecha "se tarda años en...",
lo que en inglés SIEMPRE conlleva que se utilice el "IT" como sujeto: "It
takes years to..."
d) Reported Speech: (La oración en activa principal tiene ambos verbos en
Present Simple, por lo que la oración en Reported Speech debe cambiar los
tiempos verbales de ambos verbos a Past Simple).
(Puntuación máxima 2 puntos)
10. Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic.
What do you do to look after yourself when you catch a cold or the flu?
(Puntuación máxima 3 puntos)
I rarely catch a cold or the flu, just once or twice a year but in those moments I
feel really sick and tired. It is usually in Autumn or after Christmas holidays, because in
these seasons and months I always go to the north of Spain, so the possibilities of
catching a cold or the flu are bigger than those of people who may stay in Madrid or
who may go to the south looking for the sun and the hot which disappear during this
cold months.
If I catch one of them I stay at home, my grandmother prepares a liquid mix of water, a
bit of lemon and a small quantity of sugar to make me drink it in order to come down
the temperature. Besides, I stay at the bed or in the sofa covered by a blanket and almost
always sleeping or trying to sleep. On the other hand, I usually take medicines twice or
three times a day in order to feel better or to fight against headaches. Finally, every four
or five hours I put the thermometer under my armpit to know if temperature has come
down.
AUTOR: PATRICIA HERRERO PINILLA